Chamber's Damico to help local businesses.

November 22, 2006|ED RONCO Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- There are a thousand titles for Phil Damico. He's a reference desk for business people, trying to answer their questions about how to deal with government. He's a pair of eyes and ears for government, alerting them to ways they can help grow commerce. He's an ear for chief executives to talk to, a bone for them to pick, a safety net for them to fall into, and a man who might not have all the answers himself but who can steer people in the right direction. But all of that won't fit on a business card. So the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County, which hired Damico in September, just calls him "Director of Business Growth." That'll do. Damico acts as an intermediate between government, business and economic development leaders. His position was created with the help of a $65,000 South Bend city government contribution to the chamber. Just two months into the gig, he's got a lot to say. He gestures with his hands, walks fast and talks quickly, almost like he's working hard to keep his mouth moving at the same pace as his brain. Helping businesses get and stay successful will only be good for other businesses, because, he says: "Success is contagious." Then he says, "I'm pretty excited about some of the businesses out there." And then, "I'm trying to hit these things with as much energy as I can." Apparently. Damico's job is to contact businesses, find out what they need, and help them get it. Yeah, so? Lots of areas have positions like this, right? Sort of, said Mark Eagan, president and chief executive of the chamber. Other cities and chambers have people who deal specifically with visiting businesses, but most of them are more "good-will" ambassadors, Eagan said. "The old model was 'Thank you for being here, call us if you need anything,'" he said. "Now we're going in and we're actually probing at these companies." And that means there's a lot of variation in what Damico's time consists of. Sometimes it's spent talking to police about patrol routes so employees at a certain company feel safe going to their cars during the night shifts. Or talking to Transpo about making sure there's a route to get A.J. Wright warehouse employees to work at a certain time. Or helping a local business owner figure out how to expand around some railroad track running through his property. Damico knew somebody who knew somebody, and got the business owner his answer. "Phil is not the resource," Eagan said. "He connects people to the resource." Getting settled City officials hope Damico can make business development a proactive, rather than reactive, process. "We believe one of the keys to that is keeping in regular contact with businesses," South Bend Mayor Stephen J. Luecke said. It's always nice to attract new business, but officials say the best way to grow the economy is to focus on people who are already here. Think of it this way: If South Bend's economy is a cornfield, Damico's job is to increase the number of ears on each stalk rather than to plant new corn. South Bend gave the sole contribution for Damico's job, which means he will focus his efforts within the city of South Bend. Mishawaka was invited to join in too, but couldn't find the money in its budget, said Eagan, of the chamber. Because of that, Damico will focus for now within the South Bend city limits, targeting businesses that have a disproportionately high impact on the local economy.